Reuse of Contaminated Soils

The disposal of contaminated soils is a major issue for the State of New Jersey. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection estimated, back in 1989, that there were more than 10 million tons of petroleum contaminated soils needing disposal sites. In response to request for proposals, Dr. Meegoda submitted a proposal to NJDEP suggesting the possibility to use the petroleum contaminated soil in manufacture of hot mix asphalt for paving. Through continuous support from NJDEP Dr. Meegoda managed to perform excellent research. This research generated several publications and Dr. Meegoda was asked to make several invited presentations. Part of this research resulted in NJIT obtaining a US patent (# 5,340,396, "Preparation of Asphalt Concrete with Organic Contaminated Soil"). Dr. Meegoda is now considered an authority on reuse of petroleum contaminated soils in hot and cold mix asphalt. In September 1993, Dr. Meegoda conducted a 3hour short course at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, on the use of petroleum contaminated soils in hot mix asphalt concrete. He received several phone calls, faxes, and memos from contractors, lawyers, researchers requesting information on this research. In order to field demonstrate the concept, with the help of NJ Department of Transportation and NJDEP, a NJ highway with heavy traffic was paved. It was paved with 17,000 tons of hot mix asphalt concrete made with remediated petroleum contaminated soils. The paved stretch was 3 miles long with a lane and a shoulder in each direction. This pavement was evaluated after the winter of 1994 and found to be in excellent condition. This research was featured in Transportation News, a journal sent to all involved in transportation industry. The above experience was then used to provide a solution to a major problem in Taiwan, Construction Use of Abandoned Soils from the City of Taipei, Taiwan. This funded research was performed during his sabbatical leave. He is currently a member of ASTM task force drafting technical standards for use of petroleum contaminated soils in cold mixed asphalt concrete. As a spin-off of reuse of petroleum contaminated soil, Dr. Meegoda was awarded another grant from NJDEP to study the reuse of vitrified chromium contaminated soils in highway construction. One publication resulting from this research was cited by the US patent office. Further analysis of vitrified products showed that chromium contaminated soils can be used to produce chrome steel for construction reducing the treatment cost to around $30 per ton of soil. The NJDEP is currently very interested in this research. Based on research credentials of Dr. Meegoda, NewCo, NJ, recently awarded a research contract to evaluate the applicability of remediating chromium contaminated soils using their patented "Ensol" technology.

 

Funding: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy, "Reuse of Petroleum Contaminated Soils in Cold Mix Asphalt Concrete", $39,500.00, June 1995- September 1996, PI: N. J. Meegoda

NewCo, NJ, "Evaluation of Ensol Technology," July 1999- October 1999, $ 7550.00.

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, "Construction Uses of Petroleum Contaminated Soils," $92,000.00, July 1990- July 1992, PI: N. J. Meegoda.

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy, "Remediation and Reuse of Chromium Contaminated Soils Through Cold Top In-situ Vitrification", $374,232.00, August 1994- December 1997, PIs: W. Librizzi, N. J. Meegoda, A. S. Ezeldin, D. A. Vaccari, B. A. Novel and T. F. Tate.

National Research Council, Republic of China, "Construction Use of Abandoned Soils from City of Taipei, Taiwan" $NT462,000.00 (US$18480), February 1995- October 1995, Grant # NRC-84-2611-E-009-008, PIs: H. Y. Shan, A. B. Huang, and Jay N. Meegoda.

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy, "Full Scale Testing of Construction Materials Containing Petroleum Contaminated Soils", $52,981.00 (without NJIT Match), June 1992- July 1994, PI: N. J. Meegoda

Hazardous Substance Material Research Center, "Construction Use of Residually Contaminated Soils", $80,911.00, July 1990- July 1992, PIs: N. J. Meegoda, A. S. Ezeldin, and D. A. Vaccari.

 

Publications: "Mixing it up with Dirty Dirt- Practical Tips on How Petroleum Contaminated Soils Behaves in Hot Mix", The Asphalt Contractor, September 1991, pp. 16-19. Co-authors: Huang, D. R., and DuBose, B. H.

"Petroleum Contaminated Soils in Hot Mix Asphalt Concrete - An Overview" Use of Waste Materials in Hot Mix Asphalt, Use of Waste Materials in Hot Mix Asphalt ASTM-Special Technical Publication #1193, PA, 1993, pp. 183-194, H. Fred Waller, edit., co-authors: Mueller, R. T., DuBose, B. H., Chen, Y., and Chuang, K. Y.

"Use of Remediated Petroleum Contaminated Soils in Highway Construction," Engineered Contaminated Soils and Interaction of Soil Geomembranes, ASCE Geotechnical Special Publication # 59, J. N. Meegoda, L. E. Vallejo and L. N. Reddi, Editors, Chapter 1, pp. 1-16, 1996, Co-authors: Mueller, R. T. and F. Palise.

"Aggregates for Construction from Vitrified Chromium Contaminated Soils" Engineered Contaminated Soils and Interaction of Soil Geomembranes, ASCE Geotechnical Special Publication # 59, J. N. Meegoda, L. E. Vallejo and L. N. Reddi, Editors, Chapter 3, pp. 30-46, 1996, Co-authors: W. Kamolpornwijit, D. A. Vaccari, A. S. Ezeldin, L. Walden, W. A. Ward, B. A. Noval, R. T. Mueller, and S. Santora.

"Use of Petroleum Contaminated Soils in Highway Construction", Transportation Research News, TRB, Number 184, May-June 1996, pp. 40-42, Co-authors: R. T. Mueller and F. Palise

"Remediation of Chromium Contaminated Soils -A Bench Scale Investigation" ASCE Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management, Vol. 3, #3, July 1999, Co-authors: W. Kamolpornwijit, D. A. Vaccari, A. S. Ezeldin, B. A. Noval, R. T. Mueller, and S. Santora.

"Remediation of Chromium Contaminated Soils -A Pilot Scale Investigation" ASCE Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management, Vol. 4, #1, January 2000, Co-authors: Kenneth Partymiller, Marta K. Richards, W. Kamolpornwijit, W. Librizzi, T. Tate, B. A. Noval, R. T. Mueller, and S. Santora

"Construction Use of Abandoned Soils," Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol. #56, pp. 133-145, 1998, Co-author: H. Y. Shan.

"Stabilization/Solidification of Contaminated Soils with Asphalt Emulsions," ASCE Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management, Vol. 3 #1,pp. 46-55 January 1999.

 

Students: De-rong Lobo Huang (MS), Bonnie H. Dubose (MS), Yaoqing Chen (MS), Kuen-yuan Chuang (MS), Nazhat Aboobaker (MS), Wiwat Kamolporonwijit (MS), Gerald Charleston (BS and MS), Ms Natalie Rodriguez (BS), Ms. Judy Robinson (BS), and Mr. Heim Lam (BS)